Views on abortion in the U.S.- statistics & facts
Abortion became legal in the United States in 1973 after the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision established a federal right to the procedure. Roe ruled the right to an abortion before fetal viability is protected by the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution particularly under the provision of "liberty," which also safeguards individual privacy. In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the historic Roe v. Wade ruling, ending 50 years of constitutional protection for abortion. Opinion polls throughout 2022 found that the public strongly opposed overturning the Roe v. Wade ruling and a 2023 Gallup poll found the proportion of Americans who believe that abortion is morally acceptable is more than half. Although a recent poll indicated that Americans largely view abortion as a matter of individual rights and freedoms, there are significant partisan differences among voters in this regard.
